The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, led by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., are both introducing resolutions to honor the life of former Czech president Vaclav Havel.

Havel, who died Dec. 18, helped usher the former communist nation into the West.

"President Havel’s vision and passion for human rights firmly planted the tenets of democracy in the Czech Republic and provided a model of peace and stability for other countries throwing off the heavy yoke of communist rule," said Ros-Lehtinen, who called Havel "a dynamic advocate for the Cuban people."

"We must never forget the selflessness that he embodied and his advocacy for all oppressed people, including those living under the totalitarian regimes in Belarus, Burma, Iran, China, as well as in my native homeland, Cuba," she said.

In the Senate, Rubio is cosponsoring the resolution with Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn. Other Senate co-sponsors include Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.